Chapter 14
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Home
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“What?! You’re going back to your old self?!”
Joanna’s shout reverberated loudly through the carriage carrying the three of them. Thanks to that, Willard, who was driving from the coachman’s seat, broke into a slight sweat calming the startled horses.
“I mean acting. Acting.”
“Oh~ Acting. I really thought you were going back to your old self...”
Joanna patted her startled chest.
She had only just begun opening her heart to the new Johann, so if he reverted to his previous self, the disappointment would be beyond words.
“Can I ask you something I’m curious about, Young Master?”
“Of course.”
“Why do you need to put on such an act? The family elders and everyone around would much prefer you as you are now.”
Joanna’s words were spot on. But Johann couldn’t give her a straightforward answer on that matter.
Explaining it would inevitably involve mentioning the Empire’s shadowy divisions, and knowing that could put both Joanna and Willard in danger.
“Of course, that makes sense. But there’s a reason I can’t. I’ll explain when I can—just play along with my act until then, okay?”
One might expect more questions, but Joanna didn’t pry further and gave a clear answer. That was one reason Johann had brought her along.
“Sure. If you have your reasons, I get it. So, what exactly do I need to do?”
By shortening rest stops and pushing hard, the carriage soon arrived at the lord’s domain of House Crimford’s territory.
The lord’s domain was the area where the lord’s family resided and directly governed, often the most prosperous city under their rule.
And so?
“Wow~ The line is huge! All those people are waiting to enter the lord’s domain?”
In front of the checkpoint for House Crimford’s lord’s domain stretched a line so long it seemed endless.
The people in line were diverse: tourists, merchants from trade caravans, mercenaries, wandering knights on errands, bards, and more—all visible at a glance.
“Is this Joanna’s first time in the lord’s domain?”
“Yes!”
Johann felt a swell of inexplicable pride seeing Joanna’s eyes sparkle with delight.
If I’d known she’d love it this much, I should’ve brought her sooner.
But the past year had been relentlessly busy, and before that, he hadn’t even seen her as a person...
Maybe bringing her now was the best he could do.
“But with a line that long, how do we get in? It’d take all night, and that might not even be enough...”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Sure enough, Willard deftly bypassed the line and drove straight ahead without issue.
The weary people in line glared at the passing carriage but quickly averted their eyes or turned away, pretending not to notice.
The ornate carriage’s roof bore the emblem proudly proclaiming its affiliation with the earl’s house.
Ignoring the endless queue, the carriage pulled up to the separate checkpoint reserved for nobles and invited guests.
Spotting the carriage at the special checkpoint, the checkpoint captain hurried over cautiously and saluted.
“Loyalty! Checkpoint Captain Nuan reporting. I humbly request permission to verify the identity of the noble occupant of this carriage.”
The captain observed maximum courtesy in making his request.
The carriage windows slid open on both sides, revealing Johann’s bored expression as he leaned out.
“Hey, the world’s gotten way too soft. A mere checkpoint captain dares stop the carriage I’m riding in? You’ve lost your touch while I was away.”
“My apologies! But who might you be...”
“...”
An awkward silence hung between them. Nuan didn’t recognize Johann peering out the window.
As tension rippled through the soldiers, Johann sighed irritably and rummaged in his pocket.
Flick.
He tossed his noble insignia—proof of his identity—then pinched and stretched his own cheek.
Nuan instantly recognized him and panicked, dropping to his knees in apology.
“Gasp! Y-Young Master Johann! Forgive me! I’ve committed a grave sin! There’ve been so many audacious imposters faking the earl’s emblem lately... What are you waiting for?! Clear the barricades now!!”
“Yes, sir!”
As Nuan knelt sweating profusely and begging forgiveness, the soldiers rushed to the barricades like the wind, swiftly removing the obstacles.
“I’ll let this slide once. No next time.”
“Understood!”
The carriage passed through the checkpoint amid the checkpoint captain’s and soldiers’ impeccably crisp salutes, smoother than ever.
Closing the window, Johann turned to Joanna with a serious face.
“How was that? Did it feel off compared to my old self?”
“Hmm... To be honest, you seemed just a tiny bit nicer and kinder. The old Young Master was more vicious, wicked, cunning, irritable, violent—like a mash-up of every lunatic in the world, but even worse...”
“...”
“...Sorry.”
Joanna, who had been vividly describing his demonic side, caught sight of Johann’s face, snapped back to reality, blushed, and sat quietly.
“Nah, it’s fine. It’s all true...”
Johann felt a faint pang in his chest at Joanna’s sharp assessment.
In any case, after smoothly passing several strict checkpoints, the sight of Crimford’s lord’s domain exceeded imagination.
“Wow! Oh my god...”
“Impressive, right?”
“It’s so huge and there’s so much! I’ve never been to the capital, but it can’t be more dazzling than this!”
Whatever was huge or plentiful, Joanna’s description was somehow accurate.
Well-maintained roads, houses rising three or four stories high, cathedrals boasting utmost splendor, exquisite sculptures, and throngs of well-dressed people...
“Wow~ There’s even a fountain park?”
“Plenty scattered around.”
“Is that the market over there?”
“Ah, that’s the central bazaar—a dedicated commercial district. It’s grown so big they’ve expanded to three zones now.”
Joanna’s eyes darted everywhere, overwhelmed by new wonders at every turn, to the point of dizziness.
“My village of Mulan is peaceful and nice, but compared to here, I wonder if it’s even the same world, same kingdom.”
“It’s the same place. Anywhere people you love gather to live is precious.”
Young Master...
Joanna sensed an undercurrent of sadness and shadow in Johann’s words, weighing on her heart.
The carriage rolled slowly along the main road before finally arriving at the grand mansion dominating the domain’s center.
“Th-this whole thing is the earl’s mansion!?”
Joanna hadn’t stopped gaping since entering the domain, but now her jaw dropped widest yet.
The earl’s estate was vast beyond imagination. Even from the clouds overlooking the domain, the grounds would be unmistakable...
“But those people...”
Joanna pointed at the crowds touring past the towering iron gates.
“Tourists. It’s rare to see such a ridiculously huge house up close. They visit the domain and stop by to gawk.”
“They can just tour it?”
“As long as they don’t enter the grounds proper. Besides, flaunting our wealth like this is a noble’s duty.”
Even after passing the main gates, the carriage had to travel quite a bit farther.
“No way you could walk this estate without a carriage or horse.”
“Told you it’s ridiculously big. I got lost plenty as a kid. Stuck to familiar paths, so even I don’t know everything here.”
“Even you, living here, don’t know the whole mansion?”
“Nope. Doubt the family does either. I only recently learned there’s a hunting ground out back.”
Looking at the mini-forest masquerading as the garden from gates to mansion, Joanna thought it plausible.
“We’ve arrived, Young Master.”
As the carriage stopped, Johann stepped out.
“You’ve returned, Young...”
The main house butler, Antonio, who had been waiting on time, startled slightly upon seeing Johann alight.
“Why stop mid-greeting? Does my weight loss offend you? Or are you pissed I’m back from the villa? Huh?”
Antonio snapped to attention at Johann slapping his own cheek scoldingly and greeted him properly.
“My apologies, Young Master. We sincerely welcome your safe return. We heard you were quite ill—how are you feeling now?”
“Eh, not bad...”
“Ahem!”
Johann started to answer normally but sighed inwardly at Joanna’s fake cough from behind, frowning.
“What, praying I drop dead? This guy’s pissing me off more I look at him. Antonio, lost your edge while I was gone? Shape up!”
“N-no, that’s not... My deepest apologies! I’ll fetch a priest right away!”
“Scram. No need. Let’s go. I want to crash in my room.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Johann led Willard and Joanna to his room, then asked slyly with confident tone.
“Pretty good that time, right?”
“Not bad. But you just called Butler Antonio by name. The old you wouldn’t have bothered. You never cared about others anyway.”
“Ah...”
Johann felt tears well up at his bottomless past villainy.
“Wow...”
Seeing Johann’s main house room for the first time, Joanna finally understood what “noisy room” meant.
Filled with expensive furniture, decorations, and jeweled accents, it wasn’t opulent so much as cluttered.
Johann, surveying his room after so long, muttered.
“My taste was vicious...”
“You decorated this yourself, Young Master?”
“Embarrassingly, yes. I’d love to clean it now, but...”
A person’s character shows most in their room. Changing it might spark rumors, so he couldn’t touch it.
Confirming no watchful eyes or presences nearby, Johann told the two who’d suffered.
“Rest up easy.”
At his permission, Joanna dove onto his bed and fell asleep instantly; Willard lounged on the plush sofa, drifting off.
Both acted utterly natural, ignoring Johann’s mood.
Meanwhile, Johann did bodyweight exercises while circulating mana through his body.
Straining himself like this while controlling mana helped build up accumulated mana and control faster.
How much time passed? When Johann was drenched in sweat and breathing ragged, a maid knocked.
Knock knock knock.
“Come in.”
The maid entered at his okay, blushed furiously, and bowed her head.
Mistaking Joanna asleep on the bed and sweat-drenched Johann wiping himself.
“D-dinner is prepared, Young Master.”
“Time flies. Got it. I’ll wash up and head down.”
After a quick rinse and change, Johann went to the dining hall.
There, he reunited with family he hadn’t seen in over a year... or realistically, decades without once meeting.